Learning on the Federal Constitution and Malaysian history will be introduced as part of general studies subjects in all universities, including private institutions, for Malaysian students starting this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced.
The Prime Minister said both subjects will be taught in the Malay language and incorporated into a revamped general studies curriculum.
“At the higher education level, Malay language and history are not compulsory. However, beginning this year, we will introduce restructured general studies subjects taught in Malay across all public and private universities for Malaysian students.
“Issues related to the Federal Constitution and Malaysian history will be included in the curriculum. The approach will not be overly burdensome, as we still want students in various fields and disciplines that require greater focus to concentrate on their core studies,” he said.
Anwar made the remarks during the launch of the National Education Plan 2026–2035 held here today, which was also attended by Deputy Prime Ministers Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
He stressed that it is unacceptable for Malaysian students to lack basic understanding of the nation’s history.
“If we want to safeguard this country, all our children must master fundamental knowledge of the Constitution and our history,” he said.
In addition, Anwar announced that the government will collaborate with universities to develop surrounding areas and prioritise student accommodation facilities starting this year.
As an initial step, government-linked investment companies (GLICs) have been instructed to work with selected universities to provide an additional 5,000 student accommodation spaces.
“Students continue to complain about the difficulty of securing accommodation. If housing around city centres and outskirts is too expensive, we have directed all GLICs to work with universities to develop areas and provide student housing facilities.
“This year, we will begin with selected universities, targeting 5,000 additional accommodation spaces,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anwar acknowledged the annual concerns surrounding university admission opportunities due to limited capacity in popular courses, including complaints from high-performing minority students who face difficulties in securing placements.
To address the issue, the government has instructed universities to add 1,500 additional places in key programmes, bringing the total number of extra placements offered this year to 3,000.
The additional places will cover courses in law, accounting, finance and banking, Islamic finance, artificial intelligence (AI), economics, Malay language, English language, communication, media studies, data science, data analytics, and computer science.
Anwar added that to ease students’ concerns, priority for admission will continue to be given to matriculation and foundation programme graduates. However, he assured that Form Six and Malaysian Higher School Certificate (STPM) students will not be marginalised.
“For students who achieve a CGPA of 4.0, universities will make every effort to offer placement, although course selection will depend on institutional capacity,” he said.
